Save the Date

Outpatient Center First Day

La Rabida’s colorful, nautical-inspired outpatient center was awash with excitement last week as staff and clinicians welcomed the center’s first patients.

“I just saved this as my screensaver,’’ said Karen Buffkin who used her phone to snap a photo of the two-story waiting area. She was seated on a metallic orange sofa that overlooked Lake Michigan. “I’m just so proud of La Rabida.”

Her children – six-year-old Destany and eight-year-old David, who receives treatment for Type 1 diabetes at La Rabida -- were busy playing games on nearby oversized wall- and floor-mounted interactive monitors.

The new brightly lit, airy space allows greater access for patients with medical complexities – especially those with mobility issues.

It was designed with La Rabida’s hallmark family centered care in mind so team meeting spaces are bigger and more private. Its 18 exam rooms in four lake-themed pods will replace the smaller rooms in the former space, which is now under renovation for new use.

Renovations at the former outpatient clinic are expected to be complete in early 2014.